Business Taxes Law Guide – Revision 2017

Sales And Use Tax Court Decisions

Kaiser Steel Corporation v. State Board of Equalization . . . (1979)

"Primary Purpose" Test Found Valid in Determining Taxability of Raw Materials Used in Manufacturing Process

Plaintiff, a manufacturer and producer of steel, pig iron and other products, purchased certain materials to charge its furnaces and remove impurities from the molten metal. The removal of impurities is accomplished by combining them with the materials to form slag. Portions of the materials were incorporated into the steel to achieve a specific quality; portions incidentally remained in the finished steel; portions were dissipated or lost in the manufacturing process; and portions became components of the slag. An independent company, which removed the slag and reprocessed it, paid plaintiff 1 cent for each ton removed and a 10 percent royalty on the net sales price of the reprocessed slag. After plaintiff either paid sales tax reimbursement on the materials or purchased them under a resale certificate and later paid use tax, it filed a claim for refund with the Board. The Board's position was that plaintiff purchased the materials for a purpose other than resale, namely to aid in the manufacture of steel. Plaintiff argued that the materials were properly purchased for resale in the form of slag, a by-product in the manufacture of steel.

The Supreme Court, relying on Sales and Use Tax Regulation 1525 and the applicable Sales and Use Tax Annotations, upheld the trial court's finding that plaintiff's "primary purpose" for purchasing the raw materials determines the application of tax. The court found the Board's conclusion that plaintiff purchased the materials to aid in manufacturing steel was reasonable, and held that if property is purchased as an aid in the manufacturing process, it is taxable despite some portion remaining in the finished product or an incidental waste or by-product results. Kaiser Steel Corporation v. State Board of Equalization (1979) 24 Cal.3d 188.

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